and adam lambert. all starting right now. you can come in, john. you just have to dance in. we've got the music going. our panelists this morning, congressman joseph crowley is with us. he's a democrat from the great state of new york. margaret hoover is with us, cnn political contributor. ron brownstein is the editorial director of "the national journal." john berman has made his way to his seat. >> no music. >> that's your music. i heard you singing it earlier. you don't like adam lambert, his new theme song? i kind of like that. >>> our starting point is the president and the house speaker finally getting face to face to discuss the fiscal cliff. until yesterday's unscheduled meeting at the white house, john boehner and president obama had gone 23 days without sitting down to discuss the fiscal cliff. it's a significant development because in 22 days we go off over the cliff although some people have described it as a gentle slide down a little slippy mountain. but that would be a time when we face severe tax hikes and severe spending cuts unless a compromise can be reach